These emotions had been lurking beneath the surface for months, but I had done my best to avoid them. It was a quiet afternoon. I had just come down with a winter cold and found myself lying on the couch, seeking comfort in the familiar distraction of Netflix. As I lay there, a thought came to me—a thought I quickly dismissed as I tried to focus on the show. Yet the thought came back. This time, I paused the screen and listened. I knew it was the Holy Spirit. The thought was simple: "Jonell."...

I don’t know if this was right or wrong, but I grew up being told that if somebody pushed you, you pushed them back. Honestly, that mindset kept me from getting bullied or taken advantage of. See, in middle school, girls would “try me,” meaning they would see if I was scared or not. Growing up as a mixed girl, sometimes I didn’t fit in anywhere. So, I had to learn to push back, stand up for myself, and speak up when it mattered. Over time, I got used to standing up for myself and for others....

Back in April of 2018, I was living with my parents when God gave me an idea. The idea was to begin helping other women with a vision build and run their own ministries. Out of excitement, I ran into the living room and blurted it out to my mom, "Hey, I'm going to help build other ministries!" With a funny look on her face, she said, "Okay!" It was odd to both of us because I was still building my own ministry and wasn't earning any income. I was just struggling to get by. With God's idea in...